The poll released Sunday shows Handel pulling 47 percent of the vote, with 42 percent saying they planned to vote for Deal. Eleven percent of those surveyed were undecided.

Handel, the former secretary of state from Roswell, is battling Deal, an ex-congressman from Gainesville, in Tuesday's runoff. The winner will face Democrat Roy Barnes in the November general election.

The poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Incorporated of Washington, D.C., between Wednesday and Friday. It was paid for by 13 daily newspapers with readership across Georgia. The poll surveyed 625 likely voters about their choices.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)AP-NY-08-09-10 0330EDT